>> heather: welcome to america news headquarters. >> gregg: i'm gregg jarrett. topping the news this hour, the new secretary of defense says we are coming closer to beating al-qaeda. how victory could be in sight. >> heather: and we remember betty ford, nation mourning the loss of first lady. look back at her life and legacy she left behind. >> and the royals making their way to the united states, prince william and duchess of cambridge bringing star power for celebrities and actors in los angeles rolling out the red carpet for a royal tour. >> heather: we begin with the debt battle raging on capitol

hill. president obama gearing up for high level talks working with top lawmakers hoping to find middle ground to tackle the looming budget crisis. with sharp divisions of the tax hikes and benefits cuts, will we see that grand bargain the president is calling for? caroline, how far are both sides willing to go? >> there is key players led by president obama and speaker barricade appear to cut substantial ground to cut the sift deficit. it's to cut 4 trillion dollars over four years. president obama left for camp david this afternoon. here is the president in his weekly address. >> good news is we agree on some of the big things. we agree that after a decade of racking up deficits and debt, we need to get our fiscal house in

order. we agreed that to do that both sides are going to have to step outside of the comfort zone and make some political sacrifices. >> reporter: but even if the key players reach a deal tomorrow, congress has to vote on the entire package. >> heather: you heard about this poor job numbers, they came out friday. how are they taking it? >> unemployment numbers surprised everyone. democrats say it shows that americans need some help from the government. republicans say that now is the not the time for a tax hike. here is the republican address today. >> the obama administration promised that stimulus would keep unemployment below 8 am. two and a half years ago it's 9% and still rising. that is unacceptable. america can do better. >> reporter: meaning the white house if they meet a deal the next few days if they are going to meet the august 2nd deadline.

realistically it would take three weeks to write the bill and push it through both houses. >> heather: thank you very much. >> gregg: shifting gears to unemployment with, saying, this a quote, average american does not view the economy through the prism of gdp or unemployment rates or monthly jobs numbers. people won't vote based on the unemployment rate. they are going to vote how do i feel about my own situation. do i believe the president makes decisions on me and my family. that was a couple of days before the dismal june jobs report. with unemployment now hovering upwards 9.2%, should team obama start rethinking it's reelection strategy? joining us to talk about it role call staff writer, emily (p) le.

so is this regrettable sound bite that may come back to haunt the obama campaign, because it strikes voters as insensitive. >> sure, i think you see republicans jump on that comment. it opened up the administration to criticism. in one way he is actually correct. people don't talk about unemployment in those economic terms. they talk about it in very personal terms. i can only imagine that losing ones job would be the most devastating that could happen to a person. so yes, they do talk about it in personal ways but it doesn't mean that they don't use those words, gdp or high unemployment rate it doesn't mean something to people. yes, i think it does leave them open to criticism. i think you have seen that. >> that sound bite is going to get played over and over again, in addition to the one,

president saying and chuckling shovel ready weren't really shovel ready jobs. but the white house press secretary jumped in and i wonder if he made matters worse when he tried to defend it. >> i understand we're engaged, republicans are engaged in a primary campaign trying to get media attention. i don't nowhere the voters and some other folks may be talking to but most people don't sit around the kitchen table and analyze gdp numbers. >> gdp numbers and job numbers really are a statistical of the pain that americans are suffering. i spoke with a woman yesterday whose husband just lost his job. very upset. they are sitting around the kitchen table and trying to figure out how they are going to survive. yet the president says he is not worried about his reelection prospects.

>> yeah. we did see that comment where he wasn't worried. i think he has several hats he has to wear. one of them is being president and the other is campaign hat. at the moment he is engaged in these deficit limit talks. he is wearing his presidential hat. the campaign hat is never far from him. he is very much engaged in the campaign and raising money hand over fist. we haven't seen the second quarter numbers, but the campaign said they wanted to raise $60 million and i i think people expect it to be more than that. he is actively fruavs, so he doesn't want to -- fund-raisers. so he doesn't want to be ensnared in a campaign and business he has to reach across the aisle. he can't be partisan as he might in other phases of campaign but he certainly engaged in the campaign. >> gregg: he is engaged in his own campaign, more than 35 fund-raisers just this year

alone. look, are reaction from republicans to these perhaps inappropriate comments has been pretty swift. mitt romney issued this statement. if david were working for me, i would fire him and he would experience firsthand the pain of unemployment. his comments are insult to the more than 20 million people out of work or simply stopped looking for jobs. look, i wonder if this could be turned around for democrats and the president because if a deal is struck to lift the debt ceiling and cut trillions of thears from the annual deficit, political equation and perhaps in favor of the president? >> i think you're right. i think he will see some up side political up side. but again the deficit limit talks are really not something, something people don't talk about at the kitchen table. people understand it in one way

but this is minutia going on behind closed doors and it's not readily understandable. not even so much necessarily that the deal is struck but that he was able to accomplish it in a way that everyone kind of felt somebody got something out of it. his idea of being able to reach across the aisle and taking on these important issues and cutting deals when he needs to will be reinforced. >> the other guy that is on the hot seat, speaker of the house john boehner who said, tax hikes destroy jobs and they cannot and will not pass the house of representatives. what about this. increasing revenues by closing the loopholes and tax breaks but without tax rates themselves. do you think house republicans would go along with that or would the speaker need, he would probably lose a lot of

conservatives -- he would need democrats to go with that, too? >> he might. he would have to make precise calculations. john boehner has a difficult job. his caucus in the house of representatives is all over the place. it's a very strong and very vocal and very conservative kind of section of that caucus. he is going to have to answer to. you can bet they are going to squeal if they don't like this deal. they might not end up liking it. they are going to kick up quite a bit of a fuss. he has a difficult job in negotiating within his own caucus. >> gregg: memory, thanks for your insights. >> heather: democratic leaders to run author anthony weiner's seat. even if he wins he may not get a chance to win for reelection.

new york is set to lose two seats in the house because of the most recent census. many think his district could be eliminated and special election to replace congressman weiner will be held on september 13. he resigned after he admitted sending sexual messages to women online. >> gregg: the crew of the space shuttle atlantis hard at work on first full day in space, the delicate heat shield. four astronauts taking six hours to complete the job. mission managers no apparent damage to report. atlantis is scheduled to dock at the international space station tomorrow morning delivering a new logistics module and more than 4 tons of supplies. >> heather: growing tensions between the u.s. and syria,

american ambassador to syria making waves by visiting a city of the uprising there. his enthusiastic reception and demonstrators throwing roses on his car. reports that syrian diplomats videotaped demonstrators in front of the embassy. >> gregg: turning to libya, dramatic new pictures of immigrants fleeing the war zone, four boats packed with more than 1,000 people arriving at an island near southern italy. vessels escorted to show by the italian coastguard. meanwhile, the fighting in libya itself turning red hot. rebel forces coming under heavy gunfire as they advance closer to tripoli than ever before. leland was streaming live from

migsurata. >> the rebels have been helped over the past couple weeks. they are getting much needed ammunition and reinforces himself from the town of benghazi. they now have 4,000 people surrounding this town and trying to push that front line out. many of whom as we found today fighting with whatever they had. [ gun shots ] >> nearly 20 feet high, sand berm along the road to tripoli is their only cover as they push forward. we shielded ourselves and moved up to the very front line. this is the tip of the spear for the rebels, on the front line there is a heavy exchange of fire. you get a sense of how fierce the battle is by how much ammunition. you can hear incoming and outgoing rockets.

they are fighting with pickup trucks against khadafy who has heavy armor and he has no problem using it against these citizens soldiers. driving to the front lines is a challenge. bumpy roads, in the back of old pickup trucks as rebel fighters head off. just a couple of days ago, khadafy forces controlled this part of the road. now burned out tanks sit along the way. at the front, incoming fire lands behind us as khadafy forces try to zero in their mortars. that bang you just heard is right there. that is where it landed. the glad rocket came in about 50 meters where we are, that is how close things are. khadafy's armor is taking no prisoners as they continue to pound these guys. these guys are pushing forward. >> i can tell you from having and met and talk to the rebel fighters, they are very brave

souls. number we talked to, but the fighting wounded. they are actually out there having already injured in the arm or leg and still out fighting. every single kilometer or mile that they push the khadafy forces out of the town of misurata is one more mile that their families are no longer in the line of fighter. >> gregg: le land live in misurata. stay safe, thanks. >> heather: president obama among many americans remembering betty ford. widow of gerald ford died yesterday at the age of 93. ford fought many battles including breast cancer including addictions to painkillers and alcohol that inspired the betty ford center. >> reporter: she once said once

in an interview if she had known her husband was going to run for president she won't have married him. along wait his wife touched a lot of lives. big part of her legacy will be openness. she was very open about her struggle with drugs and alcohol which unspider the clinic out in california and inspired over 90,000 people to get help there. president obama says, quote, while her death is a cause for sadness, we know that her organizations will honor her legacy by giving countless americans a new lease on life. many celebrities like johnny cash and lindsay lohan have spent time at that rehab center and symbol of strength for women in the '70 is when she was very open about her breast cancer treatment. these touched millions of lives. to be in her presence was to know a truly great weather.

she thought she was marrying a lawyer but safe to say she never gave her husband's concession speech after he lost an election but that is what she did in 1976. here is the telele gram send is go to the president-elect. >> it's apparent now that you have won a long and intense struggle for presidency. con great late you on your victory. >> betty ford will be buried in grand rapids michigan next to her husband. >> heather: thank you very much. >> gregg: duke and duchess taking california by storm. they arrived yesterday in los angeles to swarms of fans. prince is moments away from participating a charity polo match. casey joins us live from santa

barbara. i understand they just arrived, is that true? >> reporter: a short time ago, they walked right down the red carpet. on a personal note we have covered a lot of red carpet events, oscars and interviewed a number of celebrities, powerful politicians but to stand so close to royalty as they walked right by us. you could literally reach out and touch them. a pretty spectacular experience. here they are on the red carpet. now here is how the rest of this afternoon is going to go down. there is a private luncheon happening with a meeting with vip donors that have shelled out $4,000 a ticket. then at 3:00 or 6:00 eastern that is when the polo match is set to begin. prince william will be playing and after the duchess will be handing out awards. from here they will head back to los angeles where they will attend a black tie affair for

british academy for film and television arts. its jam packed weekend, no rest for the weary. >> gregg: or play for the luxury only polo i know is ralph lauren. what is planned for the rest of their trip? >> reporter: today polo match is expected to raise about $4.5 million for charity. tomorrow's focus is really on philanthropy. they will be at a private event which is an organization focused on developing parts of africa. late morning they will be stopping by an art school in the inner city of downtown los angeles. from there a military job fair and then they will board their plane and head back to the u.k. we'll be here following every step of the way. we're on royal duty for you this

weekend. >> that was quite a shot of the green dress. complete head to toe. thanks very much. casey stegall, live in beautiful santa barbara. it looks a little foggy there today. >> heather: they are becoming very well known for kha what she is wearing. >> gregg: she is skinny. we have same taste. >> heather: if you are one of the millions, unemployment jumping to 9.2% and some parts of the country may not see a rebound until the year of 2020. we'll have more on those numbers up next. ♪ ♪ hey, the new guy is loaded with protein! really? 25 grams of protein. what do we have? all four of us, together? 24.

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>> heather: a dismal report on jobs for millions of americans out of work. only 18,000 jobs were created in june sending the unemployment up to 9.2%. since march, we've seen a steady increase in unemployment in this country, now a new report painting a pretty bleak employment picture for urban areas but there is one bright spot. laura ingle is live but you are a bright spot. >> reporter: if i could i would employ thousands but one of bright spots is right here in new york city. unfortunately that is not the case for many major metro areas. according to a report issued by the u.s. conference in mayors, one in seven urban centers will not reach pre-recession levels

until at least 2020. natural areas have been the engines of economic growth producing 80% of jobs. slow growth means continued problems for the u.s. economy and some problems have picked up some areas are still lagging. >> the thing that is holding recovery back and that is still the housing market. places that had big housing booms and big housing busts, florida, southern california, nevada, parts of the rest of the southwest are still not recovering very strongly. >> in new york city, internet start-ups is one industry help by creating thousands of jobs. oyster.com is a website launched two years ago. they begin with five people and now have about 20 and expect to add hundred people in the new york headquarters made possible by the large pool of

potential workers. >> we have a much broader range of real talent, talent in design and editorial and media. now bee have a lot of tal incandescent engineering, and we had talent in marketing, as well. i think its great place for start-ups. it's made hiring good people more of a challenge in new york relative to to a few years ago. >> if you are in the tech field, now is good time to find those job listings. tech companies say they are scouring the web searching for potential employees. >> heather: we like that. good news. at least one bright spot. >> gregg: here a accused story, sort of. a lonely ri no, sir russ is getting rhinoceros is getting a friend. after the only one in captivity passed away in may.

she isn't alone anymore. zoo keepers in czech republic bringing a white male rhinofor companionship. only seven white rhinos. >> so there is hope for all of us. >> gregg: good with that story. >> any southern. >> a southern accent. >> leon panetta is making a starting prediction about the demise of al-qaeda, what he needs, what he says the united states needs do to completely wipe out this worldwide terror threat is coming up next. [ gun shots ] [ male announcer ] this...is the network -- a network of possibilities. in here, the planned combination of at&t and t-mobile would deliver

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>> gregg: bottom of the hour, time for top of the news, exxon slapped with a dlan to clean up an oil spill in yellowstone river. two months to fix the problem and facing mounting questions about the handling of the accident. >> heather: americans are remembering former first lady betty ford for her contributions to the nation. she died yesterday at the age of 93. >> gregg: president obama is pond eric the show down over the federal budgeted at camp david. tomorrow he is hosting top lawmakers from both parties in a negotiating session at the white house. >> heather: defense secretary leon panetta traveling to afghanistan. he says that the u.s. is targeting up to 20 key leaders of the al-qaeda based on information gathered during that raid on osama bin laden's compound in pakistan and terror group is now within reach. david is live from kabul,

afghanistan. >> reporter: the duly appointed defense secretary arrived here a few hours ago to find out for himself the situation on the ground here. he has brief talks with military officials including david petraeus and then he went straight into a meeting with the afghan president hamid karzai. their discussions included the transition of nato held areas of afghan control starting in july but also the drawdown of u.s. troops over the next year. he says he hopes to drive the taliban into peace talks over that period. he also said he was upbeat about prospects of defeating al-qaeda if they can capture and kill remaining leaders. >> i would say somewhere around 10 to 20 key leaders, between

pakistan, yemen, so somalia and north africa, if we can go after them, i think we really can strategically defeat al-qaeda. >> he also said the targeting of leaders such as the al-qaeda chief ayman al-zawahri continues to limit their ability to conduct attacks. he may just go well over the border in pakistan's northwest in tribal areas. he also admits there was some skepticism about what help they are getting from pakistan after they killed osama bin laden last month. he did say that in the past pakistan has helped them track down some of the al-qaeda leadership. >> heather: thank you very much, david piper streaming live from afghanistan. >> gregg: are we really in reach of defeating al-qaeda?

is the road to victory as simply as taking out the top 20 leaders. joining me now is senior advisor and principal of international advisory is christian white. is it that simple, success can be an elusive term. >> no, it into the simple. frankly his comments are in line with what president obama said. no one told al-qaeda that form the vanguard of islamism. al-qaeda is gaining ground in yemen taking advantage there. they have a presence in north africa and free hand in pakistan. what is most troubling we haven't stopped the intake of new recruits and new leaders into al-qaeda. so i would say it's an unfortunate statement and incorrect assessment. >> have we also failed to attack the radical islamic ideology? >> that is right. that is the key that unifies all these groups. if we killed everyone in

al-qaeda we would still have a serious threat. the ideology and islamism and we haven't done anything to combat and neither this administration or it's predecessor, but separating the islamists among them and empowering the other muslims the others ones that want democracy we haven't scratched the surface on that from a policy point of view or organizing the u.s. government to fight that front. >> gregg: let me switch. libya, moammar khadafy is threatening europe. he is still there and alive in tripoli apparently. what should we be doing more than what we are already doing? >> we should get and help the people that want to help themselves to take out khadafy. here is someone that has the will to strike americans in europe. he killed a great number of americans, took down a pan am flight full of americans.

we are fighting a half of a war on behalf of the rebel who has want to rid themselves of khadafy. let's get that done but we have a muddled strategy, we haven't outlined the steps of victory, sell them arms and help with communications, coordinate with what is going on the ground and that is most humane thing to do too. >> gregg: is this a president that leading from the front or behind? >> as they say from behind. he is hiding behind nato but we're still on the hook. everyone views this as a u.s. operation and every day that khadafy is still there it looks like a black spot on the rest of the u.s. yeah, we clearly need to have a strategy. and you have seen great frustration in the congress that president obama hasn't outlined what victory is in libya. >> gregg: let me switch to egypt. when tens of thousands of

egyptians have yet again to taking to tahrir square. here a picture from cairo. this surprised a lot of people. you know what, the revolution is over there, but apparently it is not. they wanted faster reforms. is the obama administration not using enough of its extended influence in that region? >> that's right. they are using their influence. they are using it the wrong way. you are going to have disgruntlement and risk in the wake of any revolution. so the question is, what does the u.s. policy do. our influence in egypt is not infinite but what we shouldn't be doing is recommending the egyptians welcome the muslim brotherhood. in many respects they seem to be on their heels. those that invented islamism before was picked up by others. hillary clinton is saying we

should meet with the muslim brotherhood and interact with them and suggesting they be brought into the egyptian desmz which would be the worst advice we should be giving. >> gregg: how can we make sure they respect peace agreements with israel? >> the democracy was the universal sufferage, it's not a panacea and more than just elections but we need to be working with pro democracy groups in egypt. everybody in the foreign policy establishment say they don't exist but we saw they do exist not only there but across the persian gulf. we ought to be helping those people more either oh reporter isly or covertly if necessary. >> gregg: good to see you. thank you very much. >> heather: the jaw dropping not guilty verdict in the casey anthony murder trial outraged many americans. is casey of in danger when she

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>> gregg: welcome back. quick look at the top stories, astronauts doing some inspection work making sure there is no damage on the heat shield from yesterday's launch. initial reports shows that everything is okay. >> pittsburgh star hines ward charged with driving drunk. former superbowl mvp rumored released on $1300 bond. >> montana officials moving out of a joint command post setting up their own response center to oversee the oil spill in yellowstone river. they accuse exxon of defying state government laws.

>> heather: stunning not guilty verdict in the casey anthony murder trial sending shock waves pushing many americans to express their rage on line. so the question remains, what will happen to casey which she is released in just a few days. let's bring in our power panel, fox news legal analyst and former president of the woman's media center, thank you so much for joining us. everyone has been talking about it. outrage on line and people are making threats, the judge actually referenced it. the threats against jurors and threats against casey. what is going to happen when she is released a couple days from now? >> hopefully she has a security because the rage is palpable. this is like when o.j., but not so. so many people, this is baby killer and a lot of folks are outraged.

this woman killed her child and she should pay for it. >> she was found innocent and some people are saying, say that well there is a high power will get her. some of the protestors are saying they don't want her to have a book deal and profit on this, but will there be vigilante justice? is. >> i think the bigger picture we can dial back our outrage and use this to understand while this one case absolutely tragic. violence against children in america happens every single day. we tend to look at the situation like it was something else. >> i thought it was a big phenomena but this is the girl next door, somebody could live next to you, but we have to move past that and look at how many

children are in such a terrible way. what can we do to fix that the one that was unemployed and started a petition to try to get caylee's law past but that is taking this into a positive direction. >> this is big issue, whether she can profit it financially. there is a motion pending, if she comes into any sort of revenue they should. >> the people should get their money back for this case because she lied. >> going back to a second, a point that you made, in reference to protection, who pays for that? >> it would be personal protection on her own. >> she probably won't have the resources to pay for that type of security. >> some people may do it for free.

you never know. >> there has been talk, what about legal fees. >> legal fees were not that significant. >> right now, barring any book deal, she really never has a job. i don't know how she is paying the $4,000 fine, $1,000 for each of the counts she was found guilty of, lying to authorities. >> some says she has $300 in her account, but i think you have folks that are probably going to help her out. >> and hearing the trial, zind anthony testified when she attempted to visit casey, casey declined the offer. she said no way. don't want to do it. she has declined most visitation requests except for her defense team. >> she has many people visiting her. this demonstrates that this lady

is a sociopath. she doesn't care about anybody except for herself and she didn't want to see her mother. >> and charge her for perjury she lied under oath. >> but clearly this relationship between mother and daughter has been precarious for quite some time even before this. i think cindy anthony talking about who is going to profit for this, she is probably going to come out with a book and she is going to have a movie deal. i don't know if this relationship can be fixed but you have to keep in mind when all the tapes came out of the conversations that were happening who would want be to be in in that position. >> she did want to save her daughter's life. >> do we know for a fact she perjured herself. >> the prosecutor said that,

what's going into the computer looking for chloroform. so there is actually a debate whether to bring perjury charges. as mother i have two children, i know that the sacrifices you make for your child. >> how about this, as mother, just released jailhouse letters show that casey anthony she wants more children whether naturally or by adoption. should she be allowed to have more kids? do you think she would make a good mom? >> i don't think she should be allowed. moms on drugs, moms that abuse their children should not have more children. i know we can't pass a law like that but we should. >> that is what it is. we can be passionate and outraged but we can't pass a law that she can't pursue being a mother. >> adopting a child from ireland >> and to make those people as

they become public feel for her or be more compassionate. >> she gets her hands on another child, child protective services should be at that door and do routine tests all the time. >> to party when her child is missing, now we know her child is dead. doesn't that say something or? >> the problem 31 days she was missing, we don't know why, she decided to go out and party instead. no one reported this child missing except for the grandmother a month later. that reason alone there should be a question. >> i wish we could pass a law, if it's proven you are into t fit parent you can't reproduce. [ laughter ]

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>> heather: former first lady

passed away and lasting legacy she left behind. she brought a breath of fresh air to the white house. she helped bring the treatment of drug addiction and alcohol back from the shadows. let's bring back or power panel. i'll start with you, obviously a huge advocate for women's rights. your thoughts on her passing? >> we have lost such a trail blaze earned a champion. i think really to take this moment to harken back to a time when it didn't matter if you were a democratic woman or republican woman, when women were standing and fighting for women's rights she was a co-chair for the equal rights amendment. we can take from the spirit of everything she brought to this country and hopefully move on in that same direction. not in the direction

unfortunately where we've seen how open she was with her addiction where with celebrities and the focus of paparazzi has moved us in is up more negative direction. >> heather: and people becoming celebrities because of their addiction. >> she was a trailblazer because of that addiction and her openness. this is way before the reality shows of rehab. here is someone i'm going to take the picture away. we're not skilled and not out on the streets. we're not prostitutes. we are normal people with an illness. look at me and look at the person i am and that is the person she was. that is why so many individuals did seek help. >> you know there is a saying, if not the numbers of years you live but the quality and the legacy you leave behind. here she is 93, she is leaving a long legacy.

we should look to her as a role model. >> heather: i love what she said. remember she started a meeting or started a speech, she would always say, my name is betty ford, i'm an alcoholic and drug addict. in terms of who people should thank and people say to her, you saved my life. she would always say, they don't realize we provided the means for them to do it themselves. that is all. >> yeah. >> something that is really difficult for families and individuals across the country to cope with it. that is just a small part of her legacy. >> as a first lady she was a great lady behind her husband, but she set her own standard, as well. >> i do think it's more than repeating, with the celebrities because of what do you call it

addiction to alcohol or drugs. >> and all those tv shows that have popped up. >> and you hear about lindsay lohan every week. >> you never hear some of those celebrities saying i a.m. an addict. >> heather: our prayers go out to family and friends and everybody that made a difference. we'll be right back.

>> heather: hello, i'm heather childers. >> gregg: i'm gregg jarrett. welcome to a brand-new hour of america's news headquarters. topping the news, the crew of the shuttle carrying out safety inspections today ahead of their docking with the international space station. we'll have the latest on that mission. >> heather: in just over one

week, casey anthony will be a free woman, but there are still many legal questions surrounding her sensational case. our legal panel weighs in. >> gregg: a report of a new brutal crackdown against pro-democracy protests. we'll tell where you police are firing the tear gas and making arrests. >> heather: president obama appealing to lawmakers to make political sacrifices now. the president using his weekly address to urge democrats and republicans to hammer out a deal on raising the debt limit. it comes just a day before another bipartisan meeting at the white house. caroline shively is live in washington. hi. what do republicans want from the deal? >> john boehner agrees with the president that they'd like to cut $4 trillion off the deficit over four years. but republicans say for every dollar the debt ceiling is raised, they want a dollar cut from spending and do not want it to come from tax increases. here is eric cantor. >> i cannot fathom how anybody,

how anyone thinks right now is a good time to raise taxes. who thinks that raising taxes on individuals and small businesses can help create jobs? we are in a crisis. people in this country need to get back to work. >> he may be open to closing loopholes. some say it's the same as a tax hike. >> heather: what about democrats, what do they want? >> they are open to those tax hikes, but they want to keep entitlements as is. that's medicare and social security. they don't want medicare overhaul proposed by cantor. some democrats are chafing at the dollar for dollar trade-off. here is hoyer. >> if your side was spending five cents, you would think that we need to cut an additional five cents in revenues so we could not pay the bills.

>> negotiators need a deal in the next few days if they'll meet the august 2 deadline because it will take three weeks to write the bill, tweak it and push it through both houses. >> heather: thank you very much. >> gregg: two members of patti labelle's entourage facing charges. the body guard and hairdresser accused of assaulting a man at a houston airport back in march. police say they do have a warrant out for their arrest. both sides giving different accounts of what happened. they alleged victim, a west point cadet suffering a head injury and deep cuts. police in michigan now trying to determine the motive behind a deadly shooting spree. 34-year-old rodrick danceler shot and killed two former girlfriends and five members of their families on thursday. among them, his own 12-year-old daughter. he also wounded two others before finally turning the gun on himself. what triggered it all is still a

mystery, but he had a history of violence. he was accused of firing a gun at people in a car for that. he was sentenced to prison time for that. his mother said he set fire to her house when he was 18. she was among several women seeking restraining orders the man in the '90s. >> heather: the obama administration preparing to propose new steps on gun safety. no word on exactly what the new measures will entail, but they are unlikely to involve legislation or take on any major issues like banning assault weapons. however, they could include executive action to strengthen the background check system. >> gregg: tragedy at an amusement park. american war hero is thrown from a roller coaster and he ends up dying. u.s. army veteran james thomas hackemer lost both his legs fight not guilty iraq, and

yesterday he was ejected from a 200 fall coaster at a theme park in upstate new york. according to the park's web site, the ride of steel climbs 208 feet, reaches speeds more than 70 miles per hour. listen to police describe the tragedy. >> as far as we can tell right now, there was nothing as far as mechanical wise or anything with the ride that would have caused this accident. the. >> so you feel maybe it was a physical issue, his body? >> it's a possibility, yes. but we can't say that for sure at this point. >> gregg: local authorities and safe engineers are investigating what happened. >> heather: awful story. a shocking discovery to tell you about made inside a tractor-trailer. mexican police finding 82 people stuffed into the back of this truck. the illegal migrant workers, mostly from central america were traveling through mexico in this

truck with fake red cross logos. originally the vehicle was stopped for traffic violation and that's when the human cargo was discovered. the driver told police he was just hired to drive the truck and that he had no idea that he was transporting people. >> gregg: the new u.s. defense secretary, leon panetta, arriving in afghanistan today vowing maximum pressure to defeat al-qaeda, a goal he says is within reach. it's his first trip to the country since taking over at the pentagon. now more from kabul, afghanistan. >> hi, gregg. the newly appointed defense secretary arrived here in kabul a short time ago. he's had a busy time already, held brief talks with u.s. military leaders at the airport, including general david petraeus. he then headed straight into a meeting with afghan president karzai. during those talks, he discussed the transition of some nato-controlled areas to afghan

control later this month. and of course, they discussed the draw down of u.s. troops over the next year. panetta said he hoped to drive the taliban to the peace talks during that period. the defense secretary was also upbeat about prospects of defeating al-qaeda if they can capture or kill the remaining leaders. >> i would say somewhere around ten to 20 key leaders that between pakistan, yemen, somalia and north africa, those are -- if we can go after them, i think we really can strategically defeat al-qaeda. >> he also said the targeting of leaders such as new al-qaeda chief continues to limit their ability to conduct attacks. he says he believes the leader

may be over the border in pakistan. that goes now to pakistan and the tension there between the u.s. and pakistan following the killing of osama bin laden. panetta did say there is some skepticism whether pakistan is helping them track down other al-qaeda figures, but he did say they have helped them in the past. back to you, gregg. >> gregg: all right. about 1:37 in the morning in kabul. david, thanks. >> heather: a powerful storm sweeping through maryland, toppling trees, snapping power lines, all this in bethesda. the northeast has been battered by a series of messy storms. so is where this wicked weather -- where is it expected to hit next? maria molina is with us with more on that. >> that storm fortunately has exited out of the east coast. but now we have a new storm

system that we're tracking and this time around, we'll see some severe weather as we head into tonight across parts of the plains, stretching from colorado into western portions of the state of wisconsin. main concerns today are large hail and damaging wind gusts that are possible in excess of 60 miles per hour. slight chance we could see an isolated tornado. the main risk, hail and also wind gusts. right now it's actually pretty quiet. we don't have rain across most of this area. there was one batch of rain that rolled through. exiting into parts of the great lakes. there is a lot of moisture across portions of the four corners and it's that moisture that's slowly creeping into parts of the plains and there is already a concern for some severe weather as the storms enter this region. we have one severe thunderstorm watch in effect until 9:00 p.m. local time. one warning with that cell, not a tornado warning, just the wind gusts. tomorrow, you'll see the renewed risk. south of the storm, it is a hot day. currently 100 degrees in dallas. factor in the humidity.

we're looking at heat index values that are very hot and dangerous. 102 in dallas. 101 in memphis. 102 in new orleans. if you are outdoors, stay hydrated. >> heather: take a mister if you can. thank you very much. >> gregg: a nation is remembering former first lady betty ford for her many contributions to society and her lasting legacy. the widow of former president gerald ford died yesterday at the age of 93. betty ford fought many battles in her lifetime, including breast cancer, her addictions to drugs and alcohol, ultimately inspiring the betty ford center. peter doocy reports from washington. >> betty ford once said in an interview that if she had known her future husband was going to run for congress, she wouldn't have married him. but gerald ford did run and became president and along the way, his wife touched a lot of lives. a big part of her legacy was openness. she was very open about her struggle with drugs and alcohol,

which inspired the betty ford clinic in california and inspired over 90,000 people to get help there. president obama says, quote, while her death is a cause for sadness, we know that organizations such as the betty ford center will honor her legacy by giving countless americans a new lease on life. many celebrities, like johnny cash, elizabeth taylor and lindsay lohan have spent time at that rehab center whose namesake served as a symbol of strength for women across america in the '70s when she was again, very open about her breast cancer treatment. her family says, quote, mother's love, candor, devotion and laughter enriched our lives and the lives of millions she touched throughout this great nation. to be in her presence was to know the warmth of a truly great lady. since betty ford thought she was marry ago lawyer who wanted to live in michigan his whole life, it's safe to say she never thought she would give her husband's concession speech after he lost an election when he lost his voice. here she is reciting the telegram her husband sent to

president-elect. >> dear, jimmy, it is apparent now that you have won our long and intense struggle for presidency. i congratulate you on your victory. >> after services in california, she will be buried in grand rapids, michigan, next to her husband, gregg. >> gregg: peter doocy, thank you. >> heather: the duke and duchess of cambridge getting the royal treatment in california this weekend. prince william and katherine arrived yesterday in los angeles, as you would expect, to swarms of fans and tonight the young royals are off to a black tie bash fit for future king. but first they are attending a charity polo match and casey stegall is there. i don't know if he's participating, but he's live in santa barbara, california with more. hi, casey. >> good to see you. i'm quite excited. this is my first pole low match.

this is going to be pretty exciting to see what this is all about. of course, prince william is playing and then after the duchess herself will be handing out the awards. take a look at the video, the royal newlyweds arriving by helicopter here at the santa barbara polo and racket club, then gracing the red carpet before heading into a meet and greet with vips and then a private luncheon. since arriving yesterday, they have made no public remarks, neither at the vanity fair magazine business convention a welcome dinner last night at the consul general's home. but the duke did make this comment a short time ago. listen. >> katherine and i have had a busy few days, so the prospect of being able to let loose this afternoon is wonderful for me. actual sport is all about, be it polo, football, sorry, i mean soccer, or whatever your preferred sport is.

>> a chuckle from the crowd there. now, from here, they're headed back to l.a. for a black tie affair, the british academy of film and television arts. tomorrow visits to an inner city school on l.a. skid row and then a job fair for military veterans. incidentally, this is the first visit to america for the duchess. this is prince william's first visit to california. so obviously this is a monumental affair. heather? >> gregg: definitely sounds like fun. you'll have to let us know how the polo match goes. >> yes. >> heather: the old saying goes, if the shoe fits, i guess, run in it? russian fashionistas putting their fastest feet forward running in the streets, running, yes, for the city's fifth annual high heels race. competitors donning their favorite stillettos. some of the runners taped their seuss to their feet.

taped them. even so, there was the occasional fall or odd shoe missing. >> gregg: ouch. that's like a broken ankle sprain, ankle invitation. >> heather: absolutely. >> gregg: we used to do that. taped our shoes when we ran cross-country. >> heather: i think this will become the next fitness fad. you watch. >> gregg: these are really high heels. the white house and others issuing dire warnings if no deal is reached on the debt crisis by august 2. but can any compromise be reached in time that make both sides on the hill happy? who is going to pay the political price, if there is a deal or no deal? we'll have is a fair and balanced debate coming up. at bayer, we're re-inventing aspirin for pain relief. with new extra-strength bayer advanc aspirin. it has microparticles, enters the bloodstream faster and rushes relief to the site of pain.

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>> heather: time for a quick check of the headlines for you. the four man crew on the space shuttle atlantis on their way to e international space station. the mission's big task is delivering a huge 25,000-pound module filled with food, clothing, spare parts and science supplies to replenish the station for the next year. a u.s. army veteran who lost his legs while deployed in iraq, james thomas hackemer killed when he was thrown out of a roller coaster. happened in upstate new york, he just got out of rehab. we're getting reports of antigovernment protesters being arrested. >> gregg: tackling america's debt crisis. president obama and his weekly address asking democrats and republicans to make, quote, some

political sacrifices. but with so many democrats on the left saying don't you dare touch social security and medicare and republicans on the right saying, no way to new taxes, can any deal be reached? here now for a fair and balanced debate, martin frost. former deputy assistant to president george w. bush. good to see you both. congressman frost, if, in addition to large spending cuts, the president and congressional negotiators were to agree to eliminating corporate tax loopholes, while at the same time lowering tax rates, do you think democrats would vote to approve or reject? >> i think there is a possibility, but gregg, look at the math on this. there are a certain number of republicans -- i'm not saying this is a partisan statement. there are a certain number of republicans who will vote no against raising the debt ceiling, people like michelle bachman, i don't care what the deal is. other republicans will vote no if there are any tax raises.

then you have some democrats who will vote no if anything is taken out of medicare. this is a very tricky situation. democracy is a messy process. my best guess is that they're probably going to do a six-month deal and if i were writing it, i would make it expire december 31 and tell them they're going to be here for christmas if they don't come in and too a long-term deal at that point. it's not inconceivable that they can do a long-term deal, but i think it's very hard and i say that not as a democrat or as a republican, just somebody on the outside looking in. >> gregg: a lot of people would agree with you on that, congressman. brad, let me put this to you. here is what speaker john boehner said most recently. everybody has been talking about this. every republican has been clear as crystal, no tax hikes. tax hikes destroy jobs and they cannot and will not pass the house. well, brad, what about closing loopholes and tax breaks without actually increasing any tax rates?

that would have the net effect of increasing revenue at the expense of hedge funds, oil and gas, the hugely profitable companies like general electric, which paid no taxes and it's really hard for your party to defend. would republicans agree to that? >> i think they would, provided that it's offset by serious and deep spending cuts. in divided government, there has to be compromise. certainly as congress mapp frost said, there are members of the republican party who are entrenched and will not vote with any deal to raise taxes. but the democrats have secret cows as well. it's up for cooler heads to prevail. the republicans need deep spending cuts from democrats. and democrats need some tax loopholes from republicans and i think if you have a tailored bill, as congressman frost said, perhaps a six-month deal where they agree to meet again in the coming months after the debt ceiling is raised for some of the systemic debt that we're facing on entitlements, i think

there is going to be a deal. >> gregg: congressman frost, the white house is floating a trial balloon. the president mentioned it obliquely in his address this morning, to make cuts in social security and medicare, which as you know accounts for a whopping 35% of the u.s. annual budget. nancy pelosi, though, seems to have rejected that notion of cutting entitlements. but how would other democrats, other than pelosi, react to that? >> i think if you have any significant cuts in medicare, almost everyone in the democratic caucus, liberals, moderates and conservatives will vote no. i don't believe they can do that. you notice that kent conrad, the chairman of the senate budget committee, has come up with his own plan, $4 trillion worth of cuts, does not make significant cuts in medicare. i think that is a flash point. i don't think democrats are going to vote for medicare cuts and i don't know what's going to happen here. now, let me make one point about

energy issue. the democrats? the senate had a sensible offered by reid and menendez which would save $21 billion over ten years by going after the five largest major oil companies. the president, on the other hand, is trying to get $43 billion off the domestic independent oil and gas producers. not the majors. and if that were to occur, you would have both democrats and republicans in all the producing states, regardless of party, vote no on the deal. so you're talking about texas, oklahoma -- >> gregg: unemployment is 9.2%. >> i just think this is very, very tricky. there are a lot of moving pieces on this. i hope they're successful, but my guess is there will be a six-month deal, but some hard and fast deadlines to get something done. >> gregg: brad, republicans may be boxing themselves into a corner, the cap, cut and balance

pledge is gaining traction. we'll put it up on the screen. cut spending equal to or greater than new debt. cap spending not to exceed a certain percentage of gdp and adopt a balanced budget amendment which by the way, would take years. but look, brad, a compromise is unlikely to reflect those conditions. so are republicans actually locking themselves into a no vote which they may come to regret, especially if they get blamed by americans for a failed deal? >> no. i think there is a pox on both houses if we don't get a deal. there is enough entrenched democrats to kill a deal and the republicans. so that's why i say cooler heads must prevail. in a divided government, this is what the american people elected. it's time for compromise but let's not muddy the waters with other criteria for a deal that is not going to be able to be time -- let's make the deal we can now and worry about the entitlements in a separate bill sometime in the fall. >> you can't ignore the economic numbers that came out friday.

that -- >> gregg: the president seemed to say he wasn't bothered by it. david fluff seemed to say -- david plouffe -- >> they were the only ones who weren't bothered by it. i was a member of congress for 26 years. you look at numbers like that and it really gives you pause. you really have to make sure that whatever you do doesn't further contribute to unemployment. that's very hard. >> gregg: the president presented a budget in february that was rejected by the democratic-controlled senate by a vote of 97-0. that's the president's budget! that's a democratic-controlled senate. is he lacking credibility when it comes to these matters? >> remember the deal. >> gregg: you go first, brad. >> i got a comment on that, too. >> this president needs a deal so badly, gregg, he is absolutely floundered in his policies on the economy. as you correctly pointed out,

even with a house and a senate that were controlled by the democrats, with the white house last year the president was not able to pass his own budget and they're likely to not pass a 2012 budget by the first of next year. >> gregg: congressman, real fast? >> let's remember that the republicans in the controlled house passed a budget that was rejected overwhelmingly on a bipartisan basis by the senate. >> gregg: at least they passed one. >> but the senate said no, we're not going to do it. so everybody has a problem here. >> gregg: congressman martin frost, brad blakeman, good to see you both this saturday. thanks so much. >> thank you. >> heather: here is a time the economy is tough, local governments hard up for money. reports in the "wall street journal" say that thieves at many public cemeteries across america are not only rising, but in some cases quadrupling. in georgia, the 200 bucks that would have gotten a grave dug and filled, that will now cost

$900. struggling municipalities citing rising costs, like higher fuel, and falling or stagnant tax revenues. >> gregg: libyan rebels advancing toward a key town south of the capital city there despite coming under very heavy attack by gadhafi forces. we'll have the latest on the unrest there.

>> heather: it is the bottom of the hour, time for the top of the news. a judge mediating that nfl labor dispute setting up another meeting for july 19. but the owners and the players, they are free to continue their own negotiating sessions in the meantime. >> gregg: police using tear gas and detaining activists in malaysia's biggest political rally in years. more than 20,000 demonstrators gathered to demand electoral reform. >> heather: in egypt, thousands of protesters march in one of the largest rallies since the

president was overthrown. anger there rising over the slow pace of promised reforms. >> gregg: in tense images coming out of the fighting in libya, heavy machine gun fire, listen to this. some of that mortar shells ringing the front lines as rebels push closer to the capital of tripoli than ever before. leeland vitter is streaming live. >> i just talked to one of the commanders who is involved in this region here. we are still in a besieged city, so many of the 3,000 men who are on the front lines are fighting for not only their life, but their families' lives here inside the city of misrata. and while we are hearing they are low in ammunition, they are certainly fighting with whatever they have.

nearly 20 feet high, the sand berm along this desert road to tripoli gives the citizen soldiers their only cover as they try to push forward. we shielded ourselves behind a shipping container as they moved up to the very front line. this is a tip of the severe and on front line there are the heavy exchange of fire. you get a sense about fierce the battle is by how much ammunition has been expended here. what you're hearing is incoming and outgoing rockets, make large explosion. the problem for these rebels is they are fighting with pick up trucks and machine guns against gadhafi, who has heavy armor and he has no problem using it against these citizen soldiers. driving to the front line is a challenge. bumpy roads in the back of old pickups as rebel fighters head off. just a couple of days ago, gadhafi forces controlled this part of the road. now burned out tanks sit along the way. at the front, oftentimes

incoming fire lands behind us as gadhafi forces try to zero in their mortars. that bang you just heard is right there. that's where it landed, the rocket came in just about 50-meters from where we are. that's just how close things are here out on this battlefield and gadhafi's armor is taking absolutely no prisoners as he continues to try to pound these guys. he just said god is great. that's what they say when they're not hit by incoming fire. now they're pushing forward. >> gregg: here in misrata, a number of the fighters who we've seen and talked to are not the walking wounded, but the fighting wounded up there on the front lines. for them, every mile they push gadhafi's forces closer into their bases is one mile farther away that gadhafi's rockets are from their families. so gregg, for many of these men, it is a very personal fight. back to you. >> gregg: indeed it is. great reporting.

thank you. >> heather: a brand-new nation is born today. south sudan celebrating its independence from sudan after decades of civil war. south sudan's birth coming at the same time as the so-called arab spring. egypt already in the process of building a new democracy and other nations in north africa, and the middle east like libya, facing antigovernment protests and militant violence. so how will all of this play into the region's stability? here is a military correspondent for talk radio news service and she's just back from sudan. she's also a former air force pilot. thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you, heather. >> heather: what role will this new nation play in this region, do you believe, and this arab spring? >> i think it's southern sudan is going to play a critical role in the region in terms of being a beacon of hope and stability. it's a brand-new country, as you know, and right now as president

kiir, said, it's the bottom, really, of the list in terms of economic capability, in terms of their ability to educate their population. but if south sudan can build up with the help of the united states as well as the rest of the nations in their surrounding area, i think it's a beacon of hope for the entire region to do so as well. and that you can go from war, civil war, losing 2 million people, almost 25% of your population, to a time of disability and economic prosperity. >> heather: and what's really happened? you mentioned millions of people losing their lives. it was the black african tribes from the south battling the mainly arab north for their independence. this independence has been granted. the peace deal reached back in 2005. you say it's far from over because we have hundreds of thousands of south sedanese still enslaved in the north.

correct? >> that's right. about 200,000 men, women and children were taken from the south and enslaved in the north and about -- at least admitted by the northern government, 35,000 still remain. i was just there with ellen rat nor repate crating 400 slaves this week. you're seeing individuals casting off slavery. they're starting their new life and the individual before had actually been shot. this is a young boy who just returned. he's lost his parents. he only had his uncle and was just recently beaten by his slave master. but you know, the beacon of hope this morning was really the fact that you had the president of north sudan and the president of south sudan together president bushier and president -- bashir and president kir raising the

flag together. this is an unprecedented move when you talk about two men very much at war and that gave me some hope for these people still in the north. >> heather: you really see the hope in their faces. i read through your notes here and i was just completely entrenched in them. tell me more about the cal vaccine that they used and i wanted to ask you about the goats for the old goat campaign. >> that's right. this cow bag scene is like gold essentially. it's traded for human beings. it was ironically developed by our u.s. military, waller reed institute for medical research several decades ago. our soldiers are liberating people in a way that they probably never expected. and in terms of what these new citizens get is a sack of hope, which includes a sickle and some grain as well as a pot and pan and a tarp. and thanks to fox news contributor ellen ratnor, hopefully soon they'll get a goat when they get repate -- pat

atriated. they'll be receiving these goats and we encourage you to go to the web site and donate. >> she calls herself the old goat, we should point out. little things that matter so much to these folks and maybe that's a lesson for all of us. thank you so much, i appreciate you joining us. >> thank you. >> gregg: in just days, casey anthony will be a free woman cleared of the most serious charges against her, that she killed her daughter, caylee. so what's next for casey personally and professionally? could we see her again in court? could she take the fifth? a legal panel breaks down the case next. [ male announcer ] this...is the network -- a network of possibilities. in here, the planned combination

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>> heather: the fat lady finally sings for a storied landmark in detroit. demolition begins on the famed ford auditorium, former home to the detroit symphony orchestra. host of memorable speeches from dr. martin luther king and malcolm x during the civil rights era. the demolition is expected to last 30 days. detroit's mayor wants the prime riverfront site to house an amphitheater. >> gregg: in the aftermath of casey anthony's acquittal on charges she killed her daughter, caylee, but found guilty of lying to police during the search for caylee, several legal questions are being raised. a fast growing movement to adopt a so-called caylee's law across the country. let's start there. and then we'll get into some of

the other legal issues with our panel. here is bob and sadie. good to see you both. mercedes, some have been quick to criticize the idea of caylee's law because they think it would not have applied to caylee since she was dead, not missing. they haven't bothered to actually read the proposed law. if you read it, it would be a felony for a parent or a guardian to delay reporting the disappearance or death of a child in a timely manner. given what happened, is it a good idea? >> i think it's a great idea. obviously part of the theory was, for the prosecutors, is that casey had delayed notifying the authorities so the decomposition of the body would be so bad that there wouldn't be the method willing of how the baby couldn't be known. all of us are parents on this panel, we're not going to need anybody to tell us, i'm going to make that call to authorities if my sids for 30 seconds, i am missing and calling their name.

i don't need legislation to tell me what to do and do the right thing. but there are plenty of parents out there who are like casey and need that type of legislation to make sure they do the right thing to protect their children. >> gregg: bob, under either disappearance, had this law been in place, it would appear as though the casey anthony would not be a convicted felon. good idea? >> yeah. it's hard to believe that something like that is -- you would think some states would have something like that. maybe some states do. i'm just not aware of it. i should have checked, but i don't think it's on the books here either. obviously it would have given surely something tangible for this jury to maybe convict her of that. the other thing is, though, gregg, i'm wondering, if you have a parent who is like casey, is a law going to really make a difference? it makes a difference from the perspective that, yes, they could be prosecuted, but i'm not convinced that the behavior that you can legislate behavior of a

parent that basically is neglect of their child. >> gregg: i want to talk about zanny the nanny, who is apparently suing casey anthony, mercedes, claiming she's been defamed and her life ruined because she was falsely accused of being the individual who had stolen young caylee and we know that was a horrible, horrible lie that was spun by casey anthony. casey anthony, this is a civil case. she has to take the witness stand and she cannot invoke the fifth amendment if she's called. right? >> you're exactly right. it's really interesting. that's what happened to o. j. simpson. he was acquitted of murder, but then during his deposition, there was lots of questions about and ultimately found legally responsible for his wife's death. it could happen here. obviously during the deposition, although she can say the fifth amendment, she can assert it, there is an inference that the judge will then say, well, you have to either respond or i'm going to say that there is an adverse interest, that obviously whatever you're about to testify

to -- >> gregg: if zanny wins, she can get a multi-million-dollar judgment against casey anthony, right? >> yeah. defamation cases, as you know. you have to be able to prove the damage. the question is how do you measure the damage? that's something that again is sometimes a subjective criteria. i've litigated those cases many times, but it's subjective. the interesting thing about this, gregg, and i don't know how mercedes feels about this or you, you wonder, can you set her up, maybe be difficult, can you set her up in a deposition for perjury charge? let's assume that the civil lawyer that's on the defamation case tries to get information from the d.a. that you know is tangible to set her up with questions that you know potentially that she has to perjure herself. it will be an interesting tech knee to see.

>> gregg: mercedes, what about law enforcement going after her for the cost of the search beyond the penitentiaries she already has -- penalties she already has to pay? and equusearch, they almost went broke in the search for little caylee and all and it was all just a lie. >> surely after the trial, as you reported on it, too, shortly after the trial, the prosecutors were working on a motion to get back all that money. you're exactly right. it was over a million dollars in the investigation of caylee's disappearance alone. that's not to say how much it cost to prosecute her, which was not as much as a million dollars, but certainly a few hundred thousand dollars if you put a two-month trial, probably a few hundred thousands. there is a motion pending. i can see a judge saying, absolutely. pay that. in fact, there is a lot of -- if you look, there is a lot of others who disappeared, the run away bride, she was fined a few hundred thousand dollars for her disappearance. she was forced to pay for that. >> gregg: we've gotten questions

from our viewers with the what about the son of sam law, she can't profit from her crimes. well, she was acquitted under florida law, misdemeanors, sorry, son of sam doesn't apply. only felonies. >> exactly. gregg, i wonder how you feel about this and mercedes before we finish. as a lawyer, and we've tried cases, i don't understand why they allowed her to look the way she did at sentencing. i mean, i look at this and i'm saying, why would you have not continued with that librarian look. >> gregg: dumb, dumb. it's pretty apparent it was a charade. >> i'm not going to do it, when he went like this to the media, that's exactly what his client was doing when she walked in that room looking like a tart. >> gregg: he did it himself, arguably a hypocrite. good to see you both.

>> take care. >> heather: electronic gadgets have become a way of life. are children spending too much time with them? what the polls say on this, other key issues of the day, straight ahead. yotake any surce, and place it between the earth's justice down upon it. oh. please sign that card for carl. ♪call 1-800-steemer.

>> heather: the unemployment rate now heading in the wrong direction.

and the debt ceiling deadline is looming large. time for the powers that be in washington to tackle these big economic issues. right? >> gregg: the latest rasmussen report poll shows 75%% of the people are not confident the lawmakers know what hear doing. here is scott rasmussen. scott, do people think that the government is trying to make the financial system work for americans or wall street? >> they think that the system that -- the politicians are more interested in helping wall street out. it's been that way at least since the bailouts of a few years ago, which are still the most hated piece of recent legislation, and on top of everything else, seven out of ten americans believe that government and big business typically work together against the rest of us. >> gregg: put up, if we can, to the producers, the first floating graphic here. 51% think it's being done for wall street.

only 22% -- there it is -- think it's for americans. is that sensism or realism, scott? >> i don't know what it is, but it is the american condition today. it's what you would expect. 65% of americans say they don't think that the politicians will do anything about our debt crisis before election 2012. they're looking at consumer confidence as the lowest it's been in two years. 27% of people who have a job are worried about losing it. try to figure out why this has been going on for so long. >> heather: so that's how they feel about our legislators, our leaders, and consumer confidence is at an all time low. but how do they feel about their own financial situation? >> they're feeling a little bit troubled about their personal financial situation, only 31% believe their finances are in good shape. but the only silver lining in the economic data we found recently is that 40% of workers say their next job will be better than their current job.

for the last year, that's been stuck in the 30% range, plus or minus a few points. so a little more optimism that they'll get through this and the next job will be better. >> gregg: at the risk of sounding like a hypocrite because i just acquired an ipad, let me switch subjects. do parents think that their kids are spending too much time on computers and stuff? >> look, overwhelmingly, people are saying yes. not just parents, everybody saying kids spending way too much time on computers and ipads and gregg, you're probably in the group they're worried about. but this is part of the human condition. i read a biography of rutherford b. heys and they were saying the kids in the 20th century, the early 20th century were distracted by new technology. i suspect the kids today will grumble about the next generation, too. >> heather: and you know, you see people out at the park and they have all those electronic devices with them. so they're not even enjoying the great outdoors. given the choice, if parents

have a choice, which do they prefer for their kids? >> 37% say it would be better if they were on a computer. only 16% say tv. 42% say it doesn't matter. and again, to kids today, what's the difference between tv and computers? even a guy my age, i watch tv shows at my computer and i use my tv as a monitor. so at some point, the lines have been really blurred. >> heather: a guy your age? who knew? >> gregg: young fellow like you. >> thank you very much. >> heather: thank you. >> gregg: my 15-year-old had to show me how to activate the ipad and get all the apps. he's a real whiz. >> heather: how is it working out? >> fabulous. you got to get the free fox ipad app. go to foxnews.com and you can find it there. it's free. that's part of this. >> heather: that wraps it up for us. >> gregg: rick rick and arthel neville are standing by with the latest. have a great weekend, everybody.

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